Department Head

As a Department Manager at ACB Consulting, you will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the department, ensuring that all aspects of the store are running smoothly and efficiently. This includes managing the team, maintaining high standards of customer service, and driving sales and profitability.

• Manage the department team, providing guidance and support to ensure they are equipped to deliver excellent customer service and meet sales targets.
• Develop and implement plans to drive sales and profitability, including managing stock levels, merchandising, and visual displays.
• Ensure that all store processes are coordinated to guarantee the best replenishment and minimize stock loss.
• Supervise and support the stocktakes, ensuring that all security checklists are completed and action plans are developed to improve totals achieved and reduce potential stock loss.
• Develop and implement action plans to improve Health and Safety standards, including identifying and proposing areas of improvement and effectively dealing with Health and Safety situations.
• Build a talent pool and succession plan for all roles in the department team, identifying potential candidates and developing them.
• Identify trends with regards to staff rotation and plan actions to minimize employee turnover and its impact on the team.

• Good knowledge of the Company, the brand, and the store they are applying for.
• Solid experience managing a similar fast-paced retail operation or outstanding performance and accomplishment at INDITEX.
• Passion for fashion, market, competitors, and trend awareness.
• Proven ability to maximize profitability and drive sales.
• Strong team management experience.
• Has led a stable and consistent career.

• Supervise the plan for placing new products on the shop floor, based on new arrivals and units prior to delivery, and ensure any shop moves required are made accordingly, prior to receiving the delivery.
• React to unexpected circumstances on delivery day, putting solutions in place (e.g. missing box in delivery).
• Provide feedback to the Product Managers (about new lines, product needs, initial allocation, stock levels...).
• Controls product levels in the store and place product requests when necessary.
• Manage in-store displays and internal mannequins in order to maintain high standards by following brand guidelines.
• Demonstrate understanding of the different ways to represent each collection on the shop floor according to current trends, concept of the collection, and customer profile.
• Identify and action creative and visual ideas for the store.
• Promote new lines effectively.
• Work with the commercial tools to guarantee the correct level of product (order, block, filter, tendency, ...).
• Build action plans based on analysis of commercial reports and take necessary action based on business needs and the needs of the store.
• Plan the commercial and visual activity of the store in a daily/weekly and seasonal manner.
• Understand how commercial decisions have an impact in the store.
• Create an analysis of the impact (results) of commercial decisions, and demonstrates ability to react to new information, putting solutions in place and offering alternatives.
• Understand the significance and importance of best sellers and is able to put in place following commercial strategy.
• Show awareness of who the competitors are for the company and my store, what makes us different from them, as well as things we have in common. Bring ideas from them, communicating these findings with managers and staff members, and understand how competitors affect our business when taking commercial decisions.
• React to the information we get from the Pilot Workshop.
• Prepare a Season/Annual commercial planner covering the priorities of the department (Sales, Launch, Easter, Ramadan, Christmas, Hajj, Hanukkah, Passover, Payday, Half Term, Fashion Night Out, Black Friday, Public Holiday, Valentine's Day, Halloween...).
• Ensure smooth preparation of a Special Day whilst understanding the process.
• Work alongside the GM, OM, and regional team.
• React to any issues on the day putting solutions in place.
• Analyse results post-event and make changes accordingly.
• Ensure that the 6 minimums of customer service are followed.
• Deal correctly with customer complaints.
• Analyse and react to mystery shop reports and create action plans for the department.
• Understand the store customer and adapt the customer service model of the store to him/her.
• Train the team and adapt the staff organisation towards giving the best customer service.
• Work together with the OM to guarantee a correct management of the stock levels based on the sales of the department, its commercial performance, and the capacity of the store.
• Understand how the stockroom is organised, organise stock according to families and styles quickly and accurately, can process overstock and understand what to do with faulties.
• Ensure that all shopfloor material is correctly stored and classified.
• Ensure that store and stockroom processes are coordinated in order to guarantee the best replenishment.
• Support the OM during the delivery process in order to complete all tasks, avoid mistakes, and achieve the delivery productivity target (chain process).
• Ensure the correct allocation of resources to cover main processes of the section (fitting room, opening, closing...).
• Supervise and support the stocktakes (preparation, action, revision & confirmation).
• Ensure the security checklist is completed.
• Develop and follow up on action plans to improve totals achieved and reduce potential stock loss.
• Supervise training plans to ensure staff are more vigilant and aware of all security procedures.
• Support the other managers following up on site inspections, monthly, quarterly, and annual checks by ensuring checklists are done to evaluate the situation in the store.
• Ensure that all maintenance deviations in the department are correctly reported and fixed, including back areas.
• Ensure there is a routine for waste and recycling, device checking, back areas management.
• Put together effective schedules taking into account business needs, customer service, store image standards, skills of your team, and priorities.
• Ensure that employees change between different tasks in order to keep a good work balance.
• Deal with unexpected circumstances, making adjustments to the schedules when necessary whilst respecting the work/life balance of individuals.
• Identify current & potential needs of the department, adjust vacancy requests, and put forward a case to General Manager.
• Hold professional interviews with external and internal candidates using all materials provided by the Company.
• Ensure a healthy work environment.
• Deal with issues promptly to avoid them escalating and causing grievances in the team and use the correct paperwork to record issues happening in the store.
• Follow and promote HR Policies & Procedures and the Code of Conduct in the store.
• Handle staff disputes in a professional manner and escalate serious staff incidents to senior management when needed.
• Train & develop the department team in commercial and merchandising aspects such as key collections/items, trends for the season, quantities to display in each furniture, cross-selling, and outfit-building.
• Set up a season training plan for the store/department which covers the commercial priorities.
• Communicate clear expectations to individuals and the team using a clear communication and open body language.
• Plan and hold regular review/feedback sessions with team members.
• Plan and hold performance reviews with individuals at least once a year reviewing achievements and opportunities.
• Set and review SMART development goals with individuals regularly.
• Agree and review personal development plans with individuals at least once a year.
• Identify underperformance issues and take any necessary actions including a plan for support, informal/formal processes.
• Guarantee that the induction programme to all new starters correctly covers commercial aspects.
• Build a talent pool and succession plan for all the roles in the department team by identifying potential candidates and developing them.
• Develop action plans (SMART) and follow-up meetings for potential candidates.
• Identify trends with regards to staff rotation and plan actions to minimize employee turnover and its impact on the team.
• Be able to implement safe working practices while leading a team.
• Fully understand and thoroughly implement risk assessments and company procedures.
• Be able to identify and propose areas of improvement and effectively deal with Health and Safety situations.
• Actively manage and make significant improvements in the Health and Safety standards of their workplace.